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News Round-Up
The Bluebelt is just One Chapter in a Blueprint for a Sustainable Bay Area now being developed by Urban Ecology Inc. - a 20-year-old, 1200-member grassroots organization dedicated to creating a healthier urban environment. The blueprint for the bluebelt (a watery twist on the more commonly used term "greenbelt") will draw not only on the ideas generated in vision forums and focus groups, but also on existing visions such as the S.F. Estuary Project's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Bay and Delta. Other chapters will explore regional sustainable strategies for Bay Area homes, neighborhoods, city centers, transportation networks, land use and the greenbelt and address energy, waste and social justice. "Everyone's talking about sustainability, but no one knows what it really means or how to apply it," says Urban Ecology's Paul Okamoto. "The blueprint is a hands-on attempt to apply the concept to a specific region and ecosystem. We think the urban environment - with all its density, multiculturalism, economic diversity and energy efficiency - offers the essential ingredients of sustainability and the necessary companion to ecosystem management." (510)251-6332
Northern California Agricultural Interests hope to Introduce a Bill Repealing Parts of the 1992 CVPIA (Central Valley Project Improvement Act), but at press time they had not yet found a sponsor. "If we remove some of the punitive and confusing portions of the CVPIA, it will make the real environmental improvements more workable," says Jason Peltier of the Central Valley Project Water Association. But Save the Bay's Barry Nelson says such a bill would injure the hard-won working relationship between agriculture and environmental interests hammered out during the December 15 Bay-Delta Accord. Nelson says the CVPIA "fills holes" left by the accord, such as spring-run salmon restoration and a San Joaquin River fix that environmentalists aren't willing to see go by-the-by. Nelson is also concerned that environmentalists will have to drop important work on follow-up to the Bay-Delta Accord and a long-term Delta fix to concentrate their efforts on defeating the bill. Contacts: Jason Peltier (916)448-1638 or Barry Nelson (510)452-9261
Rebuilding an Accident-Plagued Stretch of Highway 37 Could Enhance North Bay Wetlands if the Green Highway Project proposed by S.F. Bay Commission staff wins support. Last summer, the Commission's staff proposed an interagency agreement to "green" plans to widen the nine-mile section of undivided highway between Mare Island and Sears Point. The agency's Will Travis says a traditional approach to roadway improvement could significantly damage marshes, mudflats and wetlands on both sides of the levee-top route, but building part of the highway on a raised causeway could open sunken hayfields on the north side of the highway levee to tidal action and wetland restoration and provide access for a much-needed trail link. On May 17, the state's Senate Transportation Committee began hearings on options for the highway. At the hearing, committee members requested a feasibility report from Caltrans. (415)557-3686
A New Shortlist of 12 Bay-Delta Restoration Project Candidates for "Category III" Funding was completed this May after an ad hoc group of scientists winnowed down the list based on their potential biological value. The Category III fund was created through the CALFED Bay-Delta program to support non-flow related improvements to the estuarine ecosystem. The short list includes fish screens and ladders at Parrot Phelan, Patterson, Suisun Marsh and Butte Creek, as well as water hyacinth control, the BIOS pesticide reduction program for almond farmers, tidal wetland restoration on the Delta's Prospect Island, the restoration of base flows to Battle Creek, gravel for Sacramento River spawning berms, captive broodstock for the river's winter-run Chinook salmon and a water diversion assessment of impacts on outmigrating salmon smolt. The next step will be a feasibility review, which will further cull projects based on their readiness for immediate implementation (in 1995-1996) and the availability of matching funds. (408)265-2607 ext.2443
What's a Wildlife Refuge Worth? A new report by the Golden Gate Audubon Society says establishing a 575-acre refuge at the west end of the soon-to-be-closed Alameda Naval Air Station would generate up to $10 million a year in local spending by some 120,000- 240,000 projected visitors, topped by another $500,000 from U.S. Fish & Wildlife for facility administration and maintenance. Creating a refuge would cost far less than building commercial or residential projects, says Audubon's Arthur Feinstein, adding that any new developments would require a thorough toxics cleanup as well as an expensive rebuilding of the island's infrastructure. The wildlife refuge would require little in the way of new construction, and use an existing air control tower as an observation post (510)843-2222
Flushing Your Head Into the Bay Can Harm Fish according to clean boating guides recently published by the S.F. Estuary Project and California's Department of Boating & Waterways. The guides, one for the Bay and one for the Delta, list statistics on how untreated raw sewage discharged from boat heads (toilets) impacts the aquatic ecosystem and outline laws prohibiting such discharges within three miles of the shoreline (an area that includes the entire Estuary). The guides are part of California's public outreach follow up to the Clean Vessel Act of 1992, which identifies vessel sewage discharges as "a substantial contributor to localized degradation of water quality in the United States." The guides give boaters tips on how to use pumpouts and marine sanitation devices. They also offer beautiful color maps of pumpout and port-a-potty dump facilities throughout the region, as well as sensitive areas such as shellfish beds, herring spawning grounds and popular swim, ski and surf spots. For a free copy (510)286-0734
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